Trump Reignites '51st State' Taunt After Canada Falls Into Technical Recession

President Trump renewed his suggestion that Canada should become the "51st state" of the United States after sharing a Bloomberg report on Canada's economy entering a technical recession.

The Bloomberg article reported that Canada's gross domestic product contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter after a revised 1% decline in the previous quarter. Above the link on Truth Social, Trump wrote simply: "51st State."

Bloomberg cited Statistics Canada data showing the country recorded two consecutive quarters of negative growth for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Economists said weaker business investment, slowing population growth and ongoing trade tensions with the United States contributed to the slowdown.

The post marked Trump's latest public reference to Canada as a potential U.S. state, a remark he has repeatedly made since shortly after winning the 2024 election. In January of 2025, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Trump raised the issue during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Trudeau told MSNBC that he responded jokingly by suggesting "a trade for Vermont or California," after which Trump "moved on to a different conversation."

Trump has continued making similar comments throughout the year while also threatening tariffs on Canadian goods and criticizing trade imbalances between the two countries.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has publicly rejected the idea and recently called for a "new relationship" with the United States ahead of the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Speaking in New York last week, Carney said Canada was seeking greater "strategic autonomy" while maintaining cooperation with Washington.

"Canada strong will help make America great again," Carney said, while arguing that deeper economic coordination between the two countries remained beneficial.

Trump has also floated similar remarks regarding other territories and countries. In recent months he has discussed U.S. control or acquisition of Greenland, the Panama Canal and Venezuela, which he has also referred to as a possible "51st state."

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion in May while speaking from The Hague, where she traveled for proceedings before the International Court of Justice over Venezuela's territorial dispute with Guyana.

"We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history," said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is "not a colony, but a free country," she added.